1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a dispensing apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there have been known dispensing apparatuses that cause a piston engaged with an output shaft to move back and forth along an axial direction of the output shaft, by rotating the output shaft around an axis by driving of a motor, thereby sucking and spouting liquid through a nozzle provided at a leading end.
In such dispensing apparatuses, the output shaft is connected to a motor serving as a drive source via a plurality of couplings or reduction gears (for example, see Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2006-15308).
However, in the technique suggested in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2006-15308 described above, since power transmission is performed by interposing the plurality of couplings or reduction gears between the output shaft and the motor, there has been a risk of an excessive power loss generated until the power of the motor is transmitted to the output shaft or the piston. Furthermore, when the piston, the output shaft, and the plurality of couplings or reduction gears are disposed so as to be aligned on a rotary shaft of the motor, lengthening of the overall length of the dispensing apparatus itself is caused from large number of parts.
In view of the above circumstances, there is a need for a dispensing apparatus that is capable of improving the power transmission efficiency, and shortening the overall length of the entire apparatus.